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Archive for January 20th, 2015
Oil Spills Yellowstone River, Polluting Drinking Water
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
National Geographic: The scenic Yellowstone River has suffered its second sizable oil spill in four years, prompting truckloads of drinking water to be shipped into the eastern Montana city of Glendive. The latest spill is not expected to affect Yellowstone National Park, about 350 miles upstream.
Some oil from the weekend spill got into a water supply intake along the river that serves about 6,000 people in Glendive, according to preliminary tests at the city's water treatment plant. The sample showed elevated levels...
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Benzene found Montana water supply after Yellowstone oil spill
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Guardian: A cancer-causing component of oil has been detected in the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city just downstream from a crude oil spill that entered the Yellowstone river.
Elevated levels of benzene were found in samples taken from a water treatment plant that serves about 6,000 people in the agricultural community of Glendive, near the North Dakota border, officials said.
Truckloads of bottled water were expected to be brought in on Tuesday, and residents were warned not to drink...
Pipeline expected to remain closed after oil spill in Montana
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Reuters: A small but heavily subscribed pipeline that transports 42,000 barrels a day of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken region is expected to remain closed on Tuesday after a weekend breach that spilled 1,200 barrels of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger Pipeline LLC could not say how much of the light crude flowed into the river or when the pipeline will reopen. It was quickly shut after the leak was detected Saturday. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would...
Worker dies at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2015
Guardian: A worker at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has died after falling into an empty water storage tank, in the latest of a series of accidents at the site of the worst nuclear disaster for a quarter of a century.
The death was the second at Fukushima Daiichi in less than a year, but the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), insisted that it was doing everything possible to prevent accidents.
Almost 7,000 workers are involved in decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi, which...
World leaders in Davos to focus on risks to humanity
Posted by New Scientist: Mico Tatalovic on January 20th, 2015
New Scientist: Emerging threats to humanity will be on the agenda when the world's political and business leaders meet in Davos, Switzerland, this week.
The 45th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum aims to find solutions for global risks - including environmental challenges and those posed by new technologies.
"The risks of the last 10 years were all about economy. Those in the next 10 will be about societal and environmental issues," said Axel P. Lehmann of Zurich Insurance, at the launch last week...
Fracking jobs claims ‘overstated’, argue environmental group
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on January 20th, 2015
Blue and Green: A new report from environmental group Friends of the Earth argues that the fracking industry’s claims about job creation are “overstated” and calls for investment to support renewables instead. The report, which is supported by PCS Union and North West trade councils, places doubt on claims around the amount of long-term jobs the UK fracking industry could create. Energy firm Cuadrilla has previously said fracking could create 1,700 jobs in Lancashire within the first year. However, Friends of the...